SEMCOG is developing the 2045 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) for Southeast Michigan, which will serve as the region’s guiding policy document for investing in transportation. Our region features an extensive transportation network that, whether walking, driving, cycling, taking transit, or shipping goods, ties Southeast Michigan together and connects us with the rest of the country and the world. SEMCOG’s 2045 RTP process assesses current and future transportation needs of Southeast Michigan, establishes policies designed to meet these needs, and maps out how available resources will be invested.
SEMCOG relies on a wide range of demographic, economic, and transportation data to forecast the future transportation needs of residents and businesses. Alongside this analysis, it is essential that everyone who relies on the transportation system has a chance to provide input about what is important to them. In the next several months, our elected leaders will vote on the guiding principles for the 2045 RTP, and we will ask each county’s transportation leadership to submit project proposals to be included in the plan. This is why now is the time to make sure we understand the state of our system, what we expect the future to look like, and what people want to see.
RTP input meeting at Genoa Township Hall
Just in the past few months, SEMCOG hosted public meetings in each of Southeast Michigan’s seven counties and the City of Detroit, promoted participation in an interactive survey on our website (open through the end of the October), and conducted a random sample survey to ensure representation throughout the entire region. We have heard from stakeholders on a range of relevant topics such as pavement conditions, the environment, economic development, walking and biking, traffic safety, autonomous vehicles, border crossings, and transit.
Time is running out to participate in this transportation priorities survey! Also available in Spanish and Arabic.
Hearing about the experiences of people across the region leads me to reflect on what it all means on a personal level. I, like most people I know, have been driving for years. However, I have two small children who, due to the advances in automated vehicle technologies that are expected over the next 10-15 years, may never drive a car.
Many are excited about the convenience autonomous vehicles may provide, from an aging population hoping to remain independent to smart phone users who will be able to stay “connected” while the car drives itself. On the other hand, many people have driven for the majority of their lives and have no desire to let go of the wheel. This time of rapid change and transition will present new challenges and opportunities for everyone. The 2045 RTP tries both to sustain and improve the transportation options that we have while preparing for new realities in the future.
The ways in which we travel, work, and acquire the goods and services we need shape our communities and everyday lives. The only certainty is that Southeast Michigan will undergo dynamic changes over the coming decades. Connected and automated vehicles, safety, environmental impacts, the aging population of our region, as well as the sustainability of funding sources are all things to be considered as we work to develop the 2045 RTP. Please don’t miss this opportunity to share your vision for our region’s transportation system!
For more information, contact us at [email protected].
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